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Description:
These two pages are exerpts from a 141-page Receivers Memorandum dated 1887-1888. Pages appear to show payroll advances to O. Henry, here identified by his given name William S. Porter or W.S. Porter, for the months of June 1887 through December 1887. These pages are written in O. Henry's hand, and show his signature several times.

Description:
Multiple typescript copies of a short character sketch describing O. Henry as a young man in the late 1800s, before he was a published writer. O. Henry worked as a draftsman at the General Land Office and for Maddox Brothers and Anderson.

Description:
Photo essay containing images of photos, maps, and documents describing the General Land Office Archives holdings related to O. Henry. Includes a photo of Land Commissioner Bascom Giles standing next to O.Henry's drafting table in the Land Office.

Description:
This document was issued to the Houston & Texas Central Railroad Company as the final instrument in the land grant process, assigning ownership to the railroad company for 640 acres in Tom Green County, section 21, block 20, as described in the patent. O. Henry wrote a fictional account of illegal proceedings concerning a land certificate, Bexar Scrip 2692, in the short story "Bexar Scrip 2692.” This is the patent that ultimately gave land ownership to the railroad via that certificate.

Description:
Ledger contains lists of General Land Office employees, their job titles, and monthly earnings. Excerpted here are 98 pages covering January 1887-January 1891, which are the dates O. Henry was employed at the land office. W.S. Porter, later known as the writer O. Henry, is listed as draftsman, compiling draftsman and assistant draftsman, earning $100 per month. Porter's name appears on roughly half of the pages.

Description:
Copy of a land Grant file for land issued to the Houston & Texas Central Railway Company in the Bexar Land District. Includes a folder jacket with table of contents and notes about the land grant (filed July 12, 1928); field notes by M.J. Doyle, Deputy Surveyor, Bexar Land District for Section 21 Block 20 (January 13, 1873); the affidavit of ownership of S.N. Allen (July 12, 1928); and a note by Land Commissioner J.H. Walker indicating that the file has no relation to the O. Henry story of the same name (December 4, 1933). O. Henry’s story tells the tale of a Railroad baron taking a poor homesteader’s land by stealing this file. Walker notes that although the file was missing for a period, due to office procedures the land fraud could not have occurred.

Description:
Pamphlet printed by the Texas Capital Visitor's Center. Contains a foreward and two O. Henry short stories: "Bexar Scrip 2692" and "Georgia's Ruling." Both stories take place in the old land office building where O. Henry worked as a draftsman, and both are about Texas land grants.

Description:
Decree No. 250, Congress of Coahuila y Texas, dated January 27, 1834, granting an extension of four years for completion of the contracts of John McMullen and Lorenzo de Zavala. Transmitted by Seguín to the alcalde of Béxar.

Description:
Transcribing his communication to the political chief of Texas relative to forwarding his map of Texas to the president of Mexico. Indicates that a copy of the map in English had been sent to Philadelphia for publication but that the version sent to Mexico was more complete and accurate. 7/23/1829 126/4, p. 34

Description:
Transcribing a communication from the minister of state and relations to the governor (6/6/1835) requiring him to notify Lorenzo de Zavala to proceed to Mexico City and give an account of his diplomatic mission to France, and also to deliver to him the enclosed document (not found here). This order and the document forwarded to the political chief.

Description:
Letter from Martín Perfecto de Cos to Commandant General José Domingo Ugartechea, Principal Commandant of Texas. Instructing Ugartechea to order the military commandants that, if found, Lorenzo de Zavala be forced to sail to Veracruz and also that General Mexía be taken into custody and securely transported to Veracruz. 6/17/1835 127/12, p. 90

Description:
Acknowledging receipt of the newspaper containing the report that Zavala had illegally sold his contract and notifying him that it had been forwarded to the superior authorities. Indicates also that he had circulated to the authorities under his jurisdiction the communication of 12/31/1830 from the state government to Mier y Terán relative to the illegality of such sales and of the sale of any land to foreigners not naturalized in Mexico.

Description:
Acknowledging receipt of his communication of 7/20/1835 (Box 127:12, p. 92) in regard to Lorenzo de Zavala and informing that it and the enclosed document had been forwarded to the political chief of the department of the Brazos for delivery to Zavala, who was reported to be there.

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